Chapter 271 Discovering a way

Chapter 271: Chapter 271 Discovering a way

Talia’s POV

I stepped toward the opening, with my heart pounding in my chest. The pull from my pendant was strong, and still guiding me forward.

But when I reached the opening and looked inside, my heart sank.

Because there was nothing there.

It was just a small dip in the ground, that was barely deep enough to hide a rabbit. The dead vines had made it look like a tunnel, but it was just a hole in the earth.

I stared at it, and I felt the hope drain from my chest. "It is nothing, Kaelen."

Kaelen moved beside me and looked down. "It is just a hole, Talia."

I shook my head. "I thought... I was so sure, Kaelen..."

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Talia, it is okay. We will keep looking."

I touched my pendant, and I felt the pulse still beating against my chest. "But the pull, Kaelen. It was so strong."

Kaelen looked around. "Then we keep looking. It has to be here somewhere."

I nodded, and I forced myself to breathe. "You are right, Kaelen. We keep looking."

I walked away from the dead end, with my eyes scanning the ground back and forth. The darkness was thick, and I could barely see my own feet.

Kaelen walked beside me. "What are you looking for, Talia?"

I touched my pendant, and I was still feeling the faint pulse beneath my fingers. "I do not know, Kaelen. But something is here. I can feel it."

I walked toward a cluster of dead trees. Their branches were twisted and black, and they were reaching toward the gray sky like fingers reaching for something they could not touch.

I stopped at the base of one of the trees. It was larger than the others, with its roots spread across the ground like hands.

Kaelen stopped behind me. "Talia, what is it?"

I knelt down and touched the roots. They were rough and cold beneath my fingers.

"This tree, Kaelen," I said. "It is different."

Kaelen knelt beside me. "Different how, Talia?"

I closed my eyes, and I let my Silvertongue instincts guide me. I felt the earth beneath my palm, and I felt something stirring. It was something old, and it felt like something that has been waiting.

"This is it," I whispered. "This is the way, Kaelen."

I pressed my hand against the ground, and I felt the earth shift beneath my palm.

Kaelen’s voice was sharp. "Talia, what is happening?"

I opened my eyes, and I saw the ground begin to crack. The roots of the dead tree pulled back, and the earth split open.

Then a tunnel opened, hidden beneath the roots.

I stared at it, and I felt the tears prick at my eyes. "It is a tunnel, Kaelen. My ancestors built this."

Kaelen looked at it, and I heard the wonder in his voice. "It is very old, Talia."

I nodded. "Centuries old, Kaelen. They built it to escape, and to hide."

Kaelen looked at me. "And it leads to the fortress, Talia?" He asked.

I touched my pendant, and I felt the warmth spread through my chest. "Yes, Kaelen. It leads to my mother."

Before I could say more, the pendant began to glow brighter than before. The light filled the space around us, warm and golden.

I gasped. "Kaelen, what is happening?"

He stepped closer. "Talia, your pendant..."

I looked down, and I saw the light spreading from the pendant, wrapping around me like a blanket. Then the world shifted.

The tunnel disappeared, the darkness disappeared, and I was somewhere else.

I was standing in a small room, covered with stone walls, and a single window. And in the corner, there was a woman.

I looked closer, and saw that she was my mother.

She was thinner than I remembered, and her face was pale. But her eyes were bright, and they were looking right at me.

"Talia," she said. "I knew you would come."

I tried to speak, but no words came out. I reached for her, but my hand passed through her like smoke.

"You are close," she said. "The tunnel will lead you to me. But be careful, Talia. There are traps. Silver traps. You must be careful."

"Mother," I finally managed to say out. "I am coming."

She smiled, and I saw the tears in her eyes. "I know you are, Talia. I have always known."

The vision began to fade. The light dimmed, and my mother’s face grew blurry.

"Follow the symbols," she said. "They will guide you."

Then she was gone.

I gasped and opened my eyes. I was back at the tunnel entrance, and Kaelen was holding me.

"Talia," Kaelen said. "What happened? You were glowing, and then you just... stopped moving."

I looked at him, and I felt the tears streaming down my face. "I saw her, Kaelen. I saw my mother, and she spoke to me."

He pulled me closer. "What did she say, Talia?"

I wiped my tears. "She said the tunnel will lead me to her. But there are traps. Silver traps. So we have to be careful."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. "Silver traps?"

I nodded. "She said we should follow the symbols, that they will guide us."

I looked at the tunnel entrance, and I felt the determination rising in my chest. My mother was close, and she was waiting.

"Kaelen," I said. "We need to signal the others."

He nodded. "I will signal with the howl."

He took a breath, and he let out a long, low howl. It echoed through the darkness, carrying across the Ashen Lands.

I held my breath and waited.

Moments later, I heard it. There were distant shouts and the clash of metal, which meant that the distraction had begun.

Kaelen looked at me. "They are in position, Talia."

I nodded. "Then we go, Kaelen."

I looked at the tunnel one last time. It was dark and narrow, but I could feel my mother on the other side.

"She is close, Kaelen," I said. "I can feel her."

Kaelen squeezed my hand. "Then we go together, Talia."

I looked at the tunnel, and I felt the determination rising in my chest.

"We are coming, Mother," I whispered.

Kaelen squeezed my hand. "We do this together, Talia."

I squeezed his hand. "Together, Kaelen."

I took a breath, and we stepped into the tunnel. Then the darkness swallowed us whole.